Swahili Vowels

Standard Swahili has five vowel phonemes: /ɑ/, /ɛ/, /i/, /ɔ/, and /u/. Pronunciation of /u/ is between International Phonetic Alphabet [u] and [o]. Vowels are never reduced, regardless of stress, but they are pronounced in full as follows:

• /ɑ/ is pronounced like the "u" in hut.
• /ɛ/ is pronounced like the "e" in bed.
• /i/ is pronounced like the "i" in ski.
• /ɔ/ is pronounced like the "o" in or.
• /u/ is pronounced like the "u" in rule.